1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to an elongated plastic strip, and, in particular, to a strip merchandiser for displaying merchandise from the front edge of a retail store shelf.
2. Description of the Prior Art
It is a common practice for retailers to use strip merchandisers to display a variety of products from the front edge of display shelves. Usually, the strip has a series of superimposed cutout sections which form a support hook for the product. The products must be easily removable by a purchaser, while the strip must hold the products firmly in place to resist accidental dislodging by a passerby.
Many attempts have been made to improve the strip merchandiser over the years. U.S. Pat. No. 4,911,392, which issued on Mar. 27, 1990 to Fast, describes a strip merchandiser for hanging from the front edge of a display shelf having a cutout defining an upwardly pointing hook and a lower end reinforcement section. The hook and reinforcement section of the strip below the hook are folded back to reinforce the hook and increase its resistance to bending. U.S. Pat. No. 5,366,777, which issued Nov. 22, 1994 to Born et al., describes a display strip for packages of consumer products including a relatively stiff backing member and a thin detachable fascia layer disposed on the layer such that when a package is adhered to the detachable section, a consumer may remove the package and the detachable section simultaneously. U.S. Pat. No. 5,405,022, which issued Apr. 11, 1995 to Rissley, describes a display strip and hang tab combination having a first strip of flexible material and a second strip of flexible material that cooperate together to hang a product that is attachable to the second strip. U.S. Pat. No. 5,762,212, which issued to Pomerantz on Jun. 9, 1998, describes a display strip merchandiser having an item supporting section, and at least one item attachment member which is connected to the item supporting section to facilitate a secure attachment of an item on the strip. U.S. Pat. No. 6,145,675, which issued Nov. 14, 2000 to Kass et al., describes an integrally formed elongated plastic strip merchandiser having a plurality of tongues disposed along the longitudinal axis of the strip and a plurality of first shoulders protruding in a direction normal to the strip such that merchandise may be easily loaded into the strip. U.S. Pat. No. 6,286,690, which issued Sep. 11, 2001 to Thalenfill, descrbes a product display strip formed of an elongated metal strip which is suspended in vertical orientation in front of conventional product display shelving to provide a highly visible display.